Quick and Dirty
by PolarisAmane
Summary: This wasn't how Starling planned on meeting Batwoman, but it sure was turning out to be a blast.


**Disclaimer – I don't own shit. But if I did then there'd be an awful lot more lesbians in the DCU.**

_Quick and Dirty_

The shrill sound of police sirens faded into the night; they were lost, muffled into the over cast sky and the looming figures of Gotham's buildings.

That didn't slow Starling down though. She kept on running, putting more distance between her and the source of the blare of sirens. The ache in her legs didn't slow her down either, nor did the white burn in her throat or the tightness in her lungs that stopped her drawing in much needed breath. She had to keep running. The GCPD were the least of her worries.

Although considering who was chasing her perhaps the rooftops hadn't been the best route to take.

It was probably too late to change course now.

Starling reached the end of the building and launched herself across the narrow gap between towers, not even considering how far she'd fall if she messed up the jump. She had done this hundreds of times before, on a hundred different rooftops, chased by hundreds of different people in dozens of different cities around the world. She lived and breathed this shit and it was second nature now. Run, jump, land. Run, jump, land. Just because she was being chased by a Bat didn't make it any different.

Run.

Jump.

_Land... _She didn't even break stride as her feet hit the next rooftop; a nice little office garden that was probably for the smokers in the company, the white gravel grinding under her boots. She grinned as she cleared a sad looking water feature. Why any company would put a water feature on the top of their building was a mystery to her, especially in Gotham, it wasn't exactly the most scenic of places, but each to their own.

Dare she look over her shoulder to see which Bat person was chasing her?

Knowing her luck it would be Batgirl. And wouldn't that just be the darndest thing? She could imagine the conversation now: _"Hey there, Babs. Sorry, couldn't hear you over the sounds of sirens, screaming, fire and my own survival instincts telling me to get my ass outta there! What was I doing? Funny you should ask. Checking out some intel. Got jumped. Guy with a tire iron, and no I don't think taking it off of him and placing it somewhere unmentionable is using excessive force. The cop? He did take a shot at me. And it was dark – how the hell was I supposed to know he was a cop? Never mind such a cute one."_

Yeah, real fun conversation. She could already see Barbara's disapproving glare, and almost hear the sound of Dinah face palming.

The next roof was lower than the one she was on, and Starling fell, biting cold air whooshing past her. She landed hard and rolled to minimize the impact, her hand slapping against stone, and was back on her feet and running without missing a single beat.

This time though she heard the landing of her assailant. And that was actually mildly terrifying. Or thrilling. Maybe a bit of both. She needed a plan and she needed one fast. She was confident that it wasn't Batman chasing her; if it was she'd have already been caught, she had no illusions about that. And she was becoming increasingly certain that it wasn't Batgirl either; Babs would have shouted at her or something. So it must be one of the many other Bat Brats. For a lone wolf Batman sure had a lot of pups in his pack.

She formulated a plan in her mind, and it was a pretty simple one. She needed to get off of the roofs and down onto the streets, and preferably into a car. This Bat person was on foot and likely didn't have a mode of transportation nearby. The more distance Starling could put between them the better.

It wasn't the best plan she had ever come up with – especially since it didn't seem to include a way to get down from the roof and onto the streets, nor a way to acquire a vehicle – but it was the best her brain was coming up with right now.

When she reached the end of the roof she didn't jump but dropped instead, not even checking to see if there was a fire escape beneath her. There probably was one, she certainly hoped there was one, if not though then there'd probably be _something_ to break her fall. Failing that there was no way that the Bat behind her would let her go splat.

Fortunately her first instinct proved correct. She fell near ten feet before her feet made loud contact with the metal grate of a fire escape. She wasted no time. Grabbing the railing, she launched herself across the alley towards the neighbouring steel steps. It was quite the distance and she fell down and down before she made it, seizing the rusting steel railing in both hands. She was very thankful that she was wearing gloves; the rough metal would no doubt have taken skin and worse from the soft flesh of her palms. Still, the impact jolted her arms and she nearly lost her grip. Her legs clattered painfully against hard metal, and what little breath she had left was knocked out of her.

There was no time to think about that now though. She pulled herself part way up and kicked off from the platform, twisting around in the air and crossing back over the alley. It was easier this time to grab the other railing, and she felt a little more in control. Her arms still complained though at having to suddenly taker he body weight, but at least this time she didn't crash into the damned steps.

She was pretty close to the ground now and she simply let go, dropping to the ground. She landed in a crouch, and had to waste a precious few moments sucking in air. She would have laughed if she had the breath for it. She had a stitch, which was absurd, she couldn't remember the last time she'd had a stitch.

She was surprised that the Bat behind her hadn't also leapt from the building.

Since there wasn't a full gown person in bat pyjamas landing on her right now, Starling decided that it was probably okay to waste a few more seconds checking out who was chasing her.

She put her hands to her knees and pushed herself up. Her breathing was more under control now, though her heart was still hammering wildly in her chest. Starling ignored this and looked up.

Atop the building she had just leapt from, silhouetted against the night, her cape a red slash that billowed oh-so dramatically in the wind was Batwoman.

"Ah fuck!" Starling spat out.

Batwoman just stood there, her foot causally propped against the ledge of the roof, looking down on Starling.

This was not the way Starling had wanted to meet Batwoman. She had imagined them stopping something together, and then going for drinks before getting nice and sweaty together. Maybe whipped cream or chocolate sauce could be involved. At least she had the sweaty part down.

They stared at each other. Dead locked. It was a stalemate, fight or flight time. Starling grinned up at Batwoman, and then bolted.

A car, she needed to find a car.

She darted out from the alley and onto the road, and onto the ongoing traffic as well.

_Stupid, stupid, _she mentally cursed. She was momentarily dazzled by the sudden glare of head lights and bleating of horns. She jumped and rolled out of the way of a car, its tyres screeching as the driver hit the brake, and straight into the path of a lorry. She made to jump out of the way of that too, not really expecting to make it. This was an exceptionally stupid way to die. Thankfully she was apparently a much better jumper than she'd ever given herself credit for. She was clear of the lorry and she was still going – up and up and... Either she'd suddenly developed the ability to fly or the feeling of her jacket riding up meant that Batwoman had just saved her delightful ass.

They hit the wall of the building across the road hard. Batwoman feet first, and Starling side first. Batwoman had one hand on her grapple gun; the other clutched the collar of Starling's jacket.

"Idiot," Batwoman muttered, her voice low and a little deeper than Starling had expected. "Hold still," she ordered as Starling thrashed around. "Stop or you'll –"

Starling slipped out of her jacket and plummeted. She landed on the sidewalk hard, heavy and awkward, her knee twisting under her. She yelped and fell to her side. No time to complain. She got to her feet and nearly fell again as her knee protested at the weight being put on it. She hobbled over to the nearest parked car, and from her pocket she pulled out her good old fashioned multi-tool. Uncle Earl was right – a girl should never leave home without it.

From behind she heard Batwoman land, no doubt with a lot more grace than Starling had.

"Give it up. Do you really want to add theft to your list of crimes?"

"Possibly. It might round off my collection," Starling replied. There was no way she'd be able to open the car door, climb in and hot wire the damn thing before Batwoman could apprehend her. Sighing in defeat and frustration she pulled on the handle, getting ready to turn to face Batwoman and the music.

She heard the distinct click of the car door opening.

What kind of idiot left their car unlocked? In Gotham of all places? This dude deserved to have his car stolen.

Quickly, Starling opened the door and got in the car. She closed the door just as Batwoman's fist smashed through the window.

"Fuck!" Kicked the door open and back into Batwoman, hoping to hit her with it,. But Batwoman calmly dodged back and the door swung uselessly and Starling was exposed once more. Still, it had bought Starling precious seconds. She opened the other door and scrambled out, right back onto the road and the blinding lights of the traffic.

Starling threw up her hands. A car screeched to a halt before her, missing her by less than a foot. She stared at it for a brief moment and then grinned. It was clearly her lucky night.

The driver, a good-looking, well-dressed man, stepped half way out the vehicle and started yelling abuse at her.

_Moron._

Hurriedly, Starling grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him all the way out of the car, throwing him to the side, and by chance into Batwoman. Starling hopped in the now vacant car and slammed her foot down on the gas. She sped away leaving the car owner and Batwoman behind.

She was the luckiest niece-of-a-drunken-demented-bastard that ever lived.

Starling thumped her hand off of the steering wheel and whooped a triumphant laugh. Wait until she told Black Canary about this! Dinah was going to freak!

With some effort she forced the giddy laughter back. It was a little too soon to be celebrating. She still had to put a safe amount of distance between herself and Batwoman, and then dump the car, and then find a bar and order her some whisky – for medicinal purposes, or course, her knee hurt like a bitch. Actually, so did her arms and her ribs. She definitely needed a lot of whisky.

She weaved between the traffic, ignoring the blare of angry horns that sounded around her questionable driving skills. She sort of wished she could hear the abuse they were no doubt shouting at her though.

The shadow that flickered in the corner of her eyes was the only warning she got. Batwoman dropped right out of the sky and landed on the hood of Starling's recently acquired car.

"Shit!" The car swerved and Starling's heart leapt into her throat. She only just managed to resist the urge to hit the brakes.

Batwoman looked perfectly comfortable perched there like the world's creepiest hood ornament. Her cape folded around her, and her shock of bright red hair whipped about her face. Starling couldn't help but stare. She was transfixed by sightless white lenses, the black mask and the pale skin of Batwoman's exposed lower face. Her blood-red lips stretched slowly into a smile, and – _Jesus fuck_ – that was sexy.

Batwoman tapped slowly – once, twice – at the wind shield and then pointed to the side, signalling Starling to pull over.

Starling was half-tempted to slam on the brakes, if only to see what Batwoman would do. But there wasn't really much point, this chase was clearly over and drawing it out would probably just result in more pain for Starling and a lot less drinking time. So she did exactly what Batwoman wanted.

She even signalled before pulling over. Sometimes it was almost as much fun to follow traffic laws as it was to break 'em.

Batwoman slipped down from the hood.

Starling leaned back in her seat and watched her. She didn't get out of the car when Batwoman opened the door. Instead she sat there and smirked in a self-satisfied manner.

Batwoman looked down at her. The smile hadn't slipped from her lips. "Licence and registration, ma'am?"

Starling nearly laughed. She was funny too; this was shaping up to be the best night. "'Fraid I don't have them with me."

"Shame," Batwoman purred. She dragged Starling out of the car by her shirt. "You have any idea how much trouble you're in?"

"If I guess right do I get a prize?"

There was that smile again. Slicing up Batwoman's face, lop-sided and showing the barest hint of straight, white teeth. Starling couldn't stop staring at her mouth. It was the most alluring thing she'd ever seen. Her mind raced with all the things she wanted from it, the feel of those lips across her skin, teeth nipping, biting hard enough to bruise, break the skin even.

Starling shuddered. She watched Batwoman's lips move, the way they contorted over the words she was saying.

Wait. Saying?

"Huh?" Starling tore her gaze away from those ruby lips and to the dead white lenses of Batwoman's mask. "Come again?"

Batwoman grabbed her by her shirt and forced her back against the wall. She was standing so close, keeping Starling locked in with her body. Her lips were right up against Starling's ear, her breath warm. "I don't remember giving you permission to come the first time..." she hissed in a breath, near growled her words in a low purr that made Starling squirm. "...Starling."

"Fuck!" Batwoman knew her name. That shouldn't have made Starling all tingly in her panties, but it did. She let out a breathless laugh, not quite believing this was happening.

Batwoman was still pressed up against her, her lips grazing her ear. "I'm feeling charitable tonight. This is a warning. I catch you assaulting an officer again then we'll have more than words."

"That a promise?"

Batwoman let go of her shirt and stepped back. It was hard to see her expression because of the mask, but Starling thought that she looked incredulous. "You just don't know when to shut up, do you?"

"Part of my charm."

She'd pushed it too far, she could see by Batwoman's body language that she was in no mood for her crap. Maybe she should try to diffuse the situation before it got worse?

She pushed off from the wall, stumbling slightly because her knee was fucked, and opened her mouth to say something. Hopefully something useful and not a clumsy come on.

And then her whole world turned red as Batwoman's fist engulfed her vision. The world flashed bright white and then plunged into darkness.

Bad end to the night.

/\/\/\

Pain. Her head was ringing. It was like the worse hangover. Her face was throbbing too, and she felt sick. What the hell had she done last night?

With a stomach churning lurch Ev forced herself to sit up. She regretted it immediately. Her headache increased tenfold, her knee screamed in protest and her arms and ribs weren't feeling too hot either. At least she was lying on something comfy.

"Looks like you'll live then."

Turning her head towards the familiar voice, Ev grimaced as Dinah stood by the couch, her arms folded and her expression most definitely not amused.

"Hey, Honey, looks like I'm home," Ev croaked.

"I can see that." Dinah didn't sound too amused either. Sometimes there was no sense of fun to her. Girl needed to get out more often, or get in, depending n how you looked at it.

"Not too sure how I got home though." Ev rolled off of the couch, landing on her hands and knees, which was a very bad idea. She hissed in pain. Her knee was completely fucked. "No doubt it was a thrilling adventure though."

"Babs dropped you off."

"Oh." Not that thrilling then.

"Yeah, seems like Batwoman dropped you off with her first though."

"Shiiiiiiit..."Ev placed her head in her hands as her memory kicked in and she remembered what had happened. "Yeah, yeah... We had a little run in. Funny lady. Southpaw in case you were wondering."

"That explains the black eye." Dinah stopped down and took hold of Ev, helping her back up and sitting her down on the couch. "You pick the worst people to get into fights with." She sounded more concerned than annoyed now, which was sweet. She brushed Ev's bangs back from her forehead as she inspected the damage. Her thumb traced over the outline of the bruise and Ev resisted the urge to flinch. Dinah sighed. "Don't go getting into anymore fights. Not unless I'm there to back you up."

"Yes, mom."

"Don't be an ass." Dinah said, and then she smiled. "Not that you can help that. You are who you are."

"Thanks."

She stood up and moved back from Ev, still looking worried. "Seriously though, Ev, you need to take better care of yourself."

Ev smiled. "I have you to do that for me."

"Uh huh. Remember to thank Babs for hauling your unconscious butt over here."

Ev saluted. "Will do, Captain."

"And don't go picking fights with Batwoman again."

Ev grinned. "Now where's the fun in that?"

Dinah rolled her eyes and walked out the room, leaving Ev sitting alone on the couch. EHr grin faded now. She tested her knee, and pressed her fingers to her ribs, wincing as she did so. Bruised, bit not cracked. Next she felt along her eye, it didn't feel too swollen but sure was tender to touch,

"Hey, darlin'?" She yelled. Dinah's apartment was small so she knew that she'd hear her.

"Yeah?"

"You wanna go get a drink?" Silence. "We can talk shop. Like maybe how we should be inviting a certain lady to come hang with us sometime?" More silence. Eve grinned though, she knew fine well that Dinah would be rolling her eyes and looking up to the ceiling asking what she'd done to deserve this. She was so predictable.

But then, in her way, so was Ev. Dinah had to have seen this coming.

Ev was already running through the plan in her mind of how she'd next run into Batwoman.

/\/\/\

**One day I'm just going to write a fic about Starling and black Canary fucking each other's brains out.**


End file.
